Oregon State’s Jackson Says He’s Turning Pro

Steven Jackson won’t have the Pacific 10 Conference to kick around anymore.

The Oregon State standout running back is ready to see if he can succeed in the NFL.

Jackson, who tied a bowl game record by scoring five touchdowns in the Beavers’ 55-14 victory over New Mexico on Wednesday night in the Las Vegas Bowl, said he would give up his final season of eligibility and declare himself available for the NFL draft, which is scheduled for April 24-25 in New York City.

Jackson, who rushed for 3,625 yards in three years with the Beavers, is expected to be a first-round pick.

“No matter what I do, I know I’m going to be successful,” he said.

“As a running back, everybody is gunning for you and you’ve only got so many carries left in your body.”

Jackson, the leading rusher in the Pac-10 this year, ran for 149 yards in 28 carries against the Lobos.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound back caught a 34-yard pass from Derek Anderson five minutes in and added touchdown runs of one, three, 11 and six yards.

Jackson joins Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders, who scored five touchdowns against Wyoming in the 1988 Holiday Bowl, and San Jose State’s Sheldon Canley, who had five against Central Michigan in the 1990 California Bowl.

Jackson’s five-touchdown game also is an Oregon State record.

“That was what we were going for in the huddle,” he said. “I told the guys on the offensive line: ‘If you score, I score.’ ”

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An appellate court in Baton Rouge, La., has denied a request to block the increase of ticket prices to Louisiana State games that is scheduled for next year.

Donald Hodge, a law student at LSU, sued the school in an attempt to block the increase, citing a Louisiana law that requires that any fee increase to be approved by a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the Legislature.

Attorneys for the school argued that the increase does not represent a fee increase and therefore does not need legislative approval.

The judges with the First Circuit Court of Appeal voted, 4-1, to uphold a previous ruling by state District Judge William Morvant of Baton Rouge.

Thus, starting in 2004, season tickets will cost $252 for seven games.

The school also is requiring a mandatory “donation” of $80 to $400 per season ticket, depending on seating, with better seating for a higher donation.

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Miami running back Frank Gore, who tore ligaments in his left knee during an Oct. 2 game against West Virginia, is expected to begin running in six weeks and says he will be ready for spring drills. “I live for the game, and I have been taken from something I love,” Gore told the Miami Herald. “It’s tough. But I am going to come back harder and work harder.”

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The Roanoke (Va.) Times and World Herald reported that Virginia Tech cornerback DeAngelo Hall plans to give up his final season of eligibility and declare himself available for the NFL draft.